The conventional practice of people riding in a planing boat has been to ride down in the boat, probably because boats were conventionally constructed to accommodate them in the lower portions of the boat. As a consequence, both the passengers and the driver rode in the lower portions of the boat. The instrument panel, console; or helm were usually mounted directly in front of the driver and most, if not all, of the passengers were located in what has been known as the xe2x80x9ccatch basinxe2x80x9d, most of which was located at and slightly rearward of amidships.
As a consequence of the above, the driver in an effort to reach shelter and relative safety in a minimum of time would apply the necessary power and, in doing so, he causes the boat bow to elevate and obstruct his forward vision, which in turn, increases danger of collision with other boats, and possible passenger injuries.
The existence of the xe2x80x9ccatch basinxe2x80x9d at the lowermost portions of the boat and the location of its passengers therein or closely adjacent thereto has substantially contributed to the relatively frequent xe2x80x9cswampingxe2x80x9d of boats in which the entire boat fills with water, frequently leading to injuries and drowning.
Close quarters of passengers and mixing thereof with supplies and baggage frequently lead to confusion and accidents, including injuries. My boat is designed to provide a clear deck for occupation by the passengers, to thereby obviate the problems which are an outgrowth of the conditions, as described above. I have eliminated the xe2x80x9ccatch basinxe2x80x9d and its many disadvantages.
The prior confusion of people occupying the same identical space as their supplies, their seating, their currently used equipment and the lack of adequate railings for them to lean against and generally enjoy themselves without fear of falling overboard has been accepted as part of normal boating life.
In addition, power has been added currently to the small open planing power boat that is under the Coast Guards 26 foot length limits for such craft to the extent that the prior art seats mounted directly over a pedestal under the center of the seats"" base are unsafe, because the extremely high speeds that are now easily reached, subject the boat to a resultant vector force of great power when the boat smashes into unyielding high water and it can instantly jam the boat and all its firmly fastened parts directly away in the line of flight of the incoming vector. The seat goes too, out from under the sitting rider, due to the inertia of the rider""s body.
Contrarily, my inertia controlled swing pivot mounting beneath the base of my seat uses the inertia of the rider and the base itself to swing and catch the rider safely.
My complete flat deck allows for no swamping or capsizing.
My unique high railings practically eliminate people falling overboard.
The high elevation of the people on my decks provide for 360 degree unobstructed vision for all, therefore, much less chance of collisions killing and maiming.
Attaching paneling beneath the parallel railing and its directly beneath boat side edge provide splash protection and keeps small children from crawling out under the railing.
An important advantage of my boat is the retention of substantially all of the horizontal space within the boat at the passenger level, for the passengers convenience and enjoyment. This is made possible by retaining all of the area of the lower deck for supplies, and all other objects other than ordinary supplies, while the passengers frequent only the upper deck. This upper deck extends across the entire open area at the level of the top of the sidewalls of the boat. The top of such sidewalls were frequently, in earlier years, called xe2x80x9cgunnelsxe2x80x9d. The upper deck of my boat is clear of most everything but the console or helm, and even that area can be increased by swinging the swingable chairs (with or without the passengers therein) outwardly beyond the sidewalls of the boat.
The upper deck of my boat extends from bow to stern and from the upper surface of one sidewall to the upper surface of the opposite sidewall, all at the level of the upper surface of the sidewalls of the boat. This provides a relatively spacious area to accommodate the passengers and, along with the high hand rails, promotes safety. The hand rails at each side and at the rear of my boat are at least 34 inches high. The chair seats are disposed approximately 16 inches above the deck. As a consequence, the chairs can be swung outwardly of the sidewalls of the boat and the passengers may or may not remain in them at that position. Actually, if the dock height is OK, the swing seats may be used as a debarking or boarding device. Many handicapped people would like to go boating, too.
The most important aspect of my upper deck, however, is that it extends in a flat plane, at the level of the upper surface of the sidewalls of the boat, and continuously, from bow to stern. As a consequence, substantially all water which hits the deck flows over the outer edge of the upper deck at the side opposite that from which the water approaches the boat, and not into the lower deck and into a xe2x80x9ccatch basinxe2x80x9d area as is so common in boats as before constructed. Thus, the possibility of my boat, as so constructed, being xe2x80x9cswampedxe2x80x9d is non-existent, since substantially all of such water flows across the deck and returns to the original body of water from which it originated.
The upper deck of my boat is continuous because the only lack of continuity which exists is provided by the very minimum of space existent between the covers of the hatches, which constitute a major portion of my upper deck. The interior of the fixed hatches is used for the storage of supplies and any other items which the passengers do not wish to retain in their immediate possession. Any seepage is disposed of by the bilge pump, a common item beneath the lower deck of substantially all boats. The only seepage which occurs is that which makes its way into the lower deck is by passing between the close-fitting hatch covers, or between the edge of the deck opening and an adjacent hatch cover. The cover and the openings are closely fitted to preclude any substantial seepage.
A second important feature of my boat is the provision and disposition of a plurality of swingably mounted swing chairs over the upper surfaces of the opposite sidewalls of the boat. The swingable mounting of these chairs enables the operator to clear the deck, except for the passengers, if he so desires, and thereby make room for activity. In addition, the strong high railings of my improved boat, which extend along the length of the boat above its sidewalls, provide a strong measure of safety by preventing passengers from being washed overboard in the event of heavy waters, and stumbling over something and falling overboard.
The swingable mounting of the chairs of my boat is unique in that it includes a swing mounting at the outer and inner ends of the swingable frame. Since the inner end of the swingable frame is locked firmly in one position on the axis pivot of the support pedestal the axis of the seat support swing arm at the outer distal end of the frame must go with any movement introduced in the boat by the strong wave vector. The axis pin of the inertia control swing system under the seat introduces no torque to the situation, it just must go with the boat. The seat is a different matter, in that the pin under it is disposed near the front end of the seat, and therefore, the front end of the seat must go in whatever direction the violent vector of the wave pushes the boat, but, the center of the seat, the back of the seat and the person sitting in the seat are a different matter. Their weight center is away from the pin by approximately 4 inches, and since the seat is most likely faced in any other direction than that the violent vector is going, a torque or twisting effect takes place, instantly. The pin drags the front of the seat, xe2x80x9cdown windxe2x80x9d, so to speak, and the off center mass, regardless of its inertia, must follow. The inertia of the seat and its occupant causes the front part of the seat to swing with the movement of the pin at the front of the chair, which brings the outside back of the chair into a position facing the power vector and the occupant facing in the direction in which the vector is moving. The inertia of the occupant""s body holds the occupant within the confines of the chair, which saves lives.
My new boat has many new safety and convenience features. The provision of a deck which is clear except for passengers, is a vast improvement in that it substantially reduces or eliminates confusion, inconvenience, and possible injuries, and even deaths, which are much more likely to be experienced in a small boat of prior construction. The disposition of an upper deck at a level abreast of the upper surfaces of the sidewalls of the boat is a marked safety feature, in that it is impossible to swamp my new boat. This is true because almost all of any water which is directed toward the interior of my boat is shed by my upper deck, for the simple reason that the water has no free access to the boat""s interior. Consequently, it is caused to run off the deck and back into the source from which it originated. Also, my boat is much more convenient, enjoyable, and safer than prior boats because there is much more room, no baggage or other objects to trip over, etc., since all supplies and other objects are disposed within the hatches under hatch covers. The covers have conforming outer edges which cooperate with each other and the opening-defined edges of the upper deck to present a substantially continuous, seepage-less surface to any on-coming water.
Another feature of my invention is the positioning of swinging chairs, with seats for humans which are pivotally mounted at and along the sidewalls of the boat, capable of being swung to a position outward of the sidewalls of the boat. The reason for this varies. Generally the frames of the swing chairs are locked so that they are directly in toward the center of the boat. This is the 90 degree setting as viewed in FIG. 20, and since the long swing frame can no longer move on its support pedestal, it is solidly set in its position just as much as if it had a pedestal down directly from the center of the seat. This is fine for riding around and traveling from one place to another, however, when the boat finally gets to the place where the passengers want to do something, such as cast for fish, or move around the boat for any reason, they often don""t want the seat in the way. The solution to that is easy, as all they need to do is pull the locking pin out from the pivot axis of the support pedestal and the swing frame is free to swing. Then, if they just want to move the seat a short distance on deck to give them a place to stand where the seat used to be while traveling, they push the seat forward or rearward, out of the way. If, however, they don""t want the chair close, at all, they just manually swing the seat out over the sidewall area or swing it all the way out of the boat, which stores it out over the water, resting, as it awaits the passenger wanting it aboard again for his seating pleasure. Flexibility is the key.
A further advantageous feature is the use of a swinging frame to pivotally support similar chairs to facilitate movement and comfort of the occupant of the chair while entirely clearing the deck, except for the drivers console or helm and the driver.
Another everyday advantage of my swing seat system is the life saving inertia control swing arm system located under the commercially purchased padded seats with arms as it rides the distal end of my locked swing frame. The high powered motor that thrusts the boat forward and up on plane can be used to show and explain how the inertia control system reacts to any violent incoming vector that is powerful enough to forcibly move the boat. The inertia of the passenger and the seat he is riding in is used to save his life and provide everyday comfort. Using the boats own power to prove the efficacy of the inertia control system makes sense because this is power we have at hand. In brief, the pin at the axis end of the under seat swing arm plate system causes a twist-swing effect which makes the seat and passenger in it, turn and follow the path that the pin is forced to take by the hole at the outer distal end of the swing frame, as the boat changes movement. More about this is explained in the Detailed Description of the Invention.
One surprising extra advantage from the unique high railings is the fact that railings run parallel to and directly above the side edges of the boat, and are also equidistant at each of their ends from the boat edge top surfaces. This means that rectangular paneling or canvas may be fastened to the railing above and the deck edge below. The paneling will do several things, act as spray buffer, child safety containment and surface for placing advertising message or decoration.
The purposes of my invention is to benefit the world by showing the advantages achieved by using my Ride on Principle, which is simply that for the small, (Under 26 feet in length), open power planing boat it is much more efficient, safe and full of joy for the passengers to ride up on top of a completely flat top deck and keep their supplies below water tight hatches while using my BOAT WITH SWING SEATING high railings. Actually, I am revolutionizing the Marine Industry on this matter. I teach that the Prior Art is wasteful in life loss, injury and joyful action for the whole family.
Each of the above features, as well as more limited features set forth hereinafter, are believed to be new and are known to be beneficial in the light of my past experience with boats, which has been substantial. These features described above, alone and in combination with each other, are different and beneficial to a substantial degree over boats of the prior art, as pointed out and claimed herein.